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Melting of Katla’s ice cap is causing flooding near the volcano: Iceland Civil Protection Agency
Flooding may have been caused either by a small eruption, or geothermal heat emitted from the volcano, the authorities said.
Katla is one of Iceland’s largest and most active volcanoes. Located east of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, near the southern end of Iceland’s eastern volcanic zone, Katla is buried beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap. Its peak reaches 1,512 meters.
Map of Iceland’s Recent Earthquakes
Source: Icelandic Met Office. Image may be subject to copyright.
Katla’s last significant eruption occurred in 1928. The volcano is credited with sixteen major eruptions between 930 and 1918 occurring at intervals of 40–80 years.
Katla volcano, located near the southern end of Iceland’s eastern volcanic zone, is mostly hidden beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap, which extends across the top of the photo. Valley glaciers descend from the summit icecap toward the coastal plain in this aerial view from the SSW. Explosive eruptions from Katla, among the largest tephra-producers in Iceland during historical time, have frequently been accompanied by damaging jökulhlaups, or glacier-outburst floods. Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1985 (Icelandic National Energy Authority). Caption byGVP.
Iceland Volcanoes – Activity Forecast
FIRE-EARTH will await further development before updating the following forecast, if needed.
Simulations of FIRE-EARTH Geophysical Model (EarthModel) show that a major volcanic eruption may occur in Iceland by October 2011 with a certainty of 0.7 [P= 72%]
Iceland’s Volcanic Eruptions since 1902
2011 Grímsvötn
2010 Eyjafjallajökull
2004 Grímsvötn
2000 Hekla
1998 Grímsvötn
1996 Gjálp
1991 Hekla
1984 Krafla
1983 Grímsvötn
1981 Krafla 2 eruptions
1981 Hekla
1980 Hekla
1980 Krafla 3 eruptions
1977 Krafla 2 eruptions
1975 Krafla
1973 subaquatic eruption 5 km south of Landeyjar coast
1973 Heimaey
1970 Hekla
1963-1967 Surtsey
1961 Askja
1947 Hekla
1938 Grímsvötn
1934 Grímsvötn
1933 Grímsvötn
1929 Askja
1927 Askja
1926 northeast of Eldey
1924 Askja
1923 Askja
1922 Askja 2 eruptions
1922 Grímsvötn
1921 Askja
1918 Katla
1913 Austan Heklu
1910 Þórðarhyrna
1903 Þórðarhyrna
1902 Grímsvötn
List of Iceland’s volcanic eruptions since 1902 sourced from Icelandic Met Office Website.
Grímsvötn volcano, Iceland’s most active, has started erupting
A large plume of smoke and ash was ejected to a height of about 20km above the volcano.
The explosive eruption, which occurred at 17.30UTC on Saturday May 21, 2011, has been described as very powerful.
Grímsvötn is Iceland’s most active volcano and had previously erupted in November 2004.
A Map of Iceland Volcanoes. Click image to enlarge.
Iceland’s Met Office Report
“Eruptions in Grímsvötn start as subglacial eruptions, which quickly break the ice cover. At 21:00 UTC, the eruption plume had risen to an altitude of over 65,000 ft (~20 km). Initially, the plume is expected to drift to the east and subsequently to the north. Thus, the ash is not expected to impact aviation in Europe, at least not during the first 24 hours.”
Eruption cloud from Grímsvötn volcano at 22:00 UTC May 21st 2011 captured by Icelandic met Office Weather Radar located at Keflavik International Airport located about 220 km from the volcano. The eruption cloud covers a large section of Vatnajökull ice cap.
Grímsvötn: “A very powerful volcano”
“Grimsvotn is a very powerful volcano, so we’re monitoring it closely, even if the last few eruptions have been harmless,” University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson told Morgunbladid.
“We do not expect this to be a big one as it’s coming from the same crater as the last three eruptions, which were all small.”
‘Not Like Last Year‘
“It can be a big eruption, but it is unlikely to be like last year,” Icelandic Met Office geologist Hjorleifur Sveinbjornsson told Reuters, referring Eyjafjallajokull.
Lots of Ash
“A lot of ash has been falling around the Vatnajokull glacier and nearby towns this evening. It is expected to continue through the night and maybe into tomorrow, according to Icelandic Met Office geologist, Hjorleifur Sveinbjornsson. The ash is much coarser than that which came from Eyjafjallajokull last year.” IceNews reported.
Aviation Threat
Isavia civil aviation authority has imposed a 120 nm flight ban around the volcano, a spokesman said. “We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have.”
Grímsvötn volcano erupts producing a mushroom cloud of smoke and ash. Frame grabs from video clip by Icelandic National TV station RÚV.
Images of the 2nd Round of Eruption at Eyjafjallajökull Volcano
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano produced its second major ash plume of 2010 on May 7. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite collected data on ash height when it passed just east of the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano mid-morning on May 7.
MISR has nine different cameras, each viewing the scene below from a difference angle nearly simultaneously. By combining all these images using a hyper-stereo technique, scientists can calculate the height of the ash plume.
The above image is a natural-color, nadir (downwards-looking) view of the scene. The top image is the stereo-derived plume height. Each pixel in the image shows an area 1.1 kilometers (0.68 miles) wide. The vertical accuracy is about 0.5km.
Much of the plume resides between 4 and 6 kilometers above the ocean surface (orange and red color in the right image), but the ash descends to near 3 kilometers yellow-green) far downwind. Images and caption: NASA/MISR [edited for brevity.]
Status Report – 15 May 2010 (3:55UTC)
The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) reported plume reaching a height of about 7 km (24,000 ft) drifting in a southwesterly direction. Ashfall was detected in the capital Reykjavík.
At least 50 lightning strikes were recorded during the previous 24 hours. No major changes in the activity were reported. There’s no sign the eruption could end anytime soon.
For details of status report by IMO and others click here.
LATEST NEWS FROM ICELAND:
Volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull eruption has forced the authorities to shut down the intentional airport at Reykjavík, the country’s main airport, authorities say.
UK Airspace
Parts of the UK’s airspace may close on Sunday as volcanic ash clouds continue to drift south of Iceland, the UK Department for Transport said, BBC reported.
Last week, about a dozen airports in southern Europe were forced to close and many flights were re-routed to avoid the risk from the Icelandic ash clouds.
Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Links Page [This page contains a comprehensive index of links to resources on Eyjafjallajökull including additional satellite images.]
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Dozens of airports closed, hundreds of flights canceled, many more diverted.
Renewed eruption at Eyjafjallajökull caused more volcanic ash to invade European airspace, forcing a new wave of flight cancellations and airport closures in Spain, as well as parts of Ireland Italy, Portugal, Scotland and the England.
At least 28 airports were forced to close from several hours to more than a day, causing hundreds of cancellations, and many flight diversions.
There were also flight cancellation to and from Switzerland, Southern and Central France, Northern Italy and Northern Portugal.
IMO Status Report said the eruption was still in an explosive phase, with the plume reaching a height of about 5km.
Eyjafjallajökull from Hvolsvelli webcam Eyjafjallajökull eruption seen from Hvolsvelli webcam. Top of the plume is seen emerging and towering above the clouds. Click image to enlarge.
Volcanic Ash Advisory from London – Issued graphics (UK Met Office)
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More magma pumping from the volcano’s depth GPS-monitoring indicates inflation
ALI on NASA’s EO-1 satellite captured this natural-color image of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano ejecting ash and steam on May 2, 2010. Source: NASA. Download large image (2 MB, JPEG)
Magma Intrusion – 05 May 2010 13:40
Icelandic Met Office (IMO) has detected increased seismic activity beneath Eyjafjallajökull starting Monday 3 May. “Precise locations of the earthquakes show that their source is at first very deep, at about 23 km depth, but then migrates upwards. This strongly indicates that “new” magma is intruding into the magma conduit and pushing on the over-lying magma, causing a difference in pressure at the surface. It is therefore anticipated that the eruption will continue at full force in the next days.”
Plume Height
IMO’s weather radar reported the plume height reaching to a height of about 6.5km a.s.l.
Lava Flow
Lava is flowing in a northerly direction and spreading at 500 m a.s.l., IMO said. “The lava tongue is about 200 m wide and lava channels that join at the tongue are about 30-60 m wide. The lava channels gets wider every day.”
GPS deformatio
IMO reported significant horizontal movement at GPS stations mounted around
Eyjafjallajökull in the last 2 days.
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Lava flows northwards from the Eyjafjallajökull crater, melting the glacial ice: Report
The local experts do not believe large-scale flooding could occur from the melt water, but then again …
Oh, and if you are wondering why everyone in Iceland is suddenly speaking about lava flow in the past tense, you’re not alone. The rascals didn’t tell anyone lava had started flowing 4 days ago!
Notice: The following updates were issued by various Icelandic organizations. Unlike the govt organizations in the US, nearly all of the information broadcast by government organizations and educational outlets in Iceland and most European countries may be subject to copyright. If your use of their data goes beyond the educational use/ fair use, be sure to contact the authors for copyright clarification/ permission.
Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management -Media team
Specialists from the Institute of the Earth Sciences (http://www.earthice.hi.is/ ) and the Icelandic Meteorological Office (http://www.vedur.is) flew over the eruption site in Eyjafjallajökull late yesterday. The lava flow seems to be of similar volume as in recent days (20-40 tons per second). The quantity of the volcanic plume is slowly decreasing. The flow of lava is most likely to have started near noon on April 21 when water started flowing continuously from Gígjökull. Steam plumes rose from the northern edges of the caldera after noon on that day and could be seen from a helicopter. Deflation associated with the volcanic tremor was noticed at the same time. There are no signs of melting or flow of water to the south. There are also no indications that the eruption is coming to an end.
There are still disruptions in domestic and international flights, according to information from ISAVIA, and passengers are therefore strongly advised to seek further information from air carriers and at: http://www.textavarp.is/ .
Icelandic Met Office Report
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
Indications of lava flow to the north – 25 April 11:30
Yesterday evening, geophysicists from the Institute of the Earth Sciences found indications of lava flow from the eruption site. The risk of sudden melt water flow is, however, minor. Following is their description:
“North of crater a roughly 300 m long and wide depression has been melted out in the last three days. Steam plumes rise from the depression, especially at the margins. This is explained by lava flowing northwards from the crater with the steam rising where lava meets ice … Flow of lava is considered to have begun around noon on Wednesday 21 April.”
Icelandic Meteorological Office and Institute of Earth Sciences, UoI
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull – status report 25 April 2010 at 1800
Eruption plume: Height( a.s.l): Unknown, not seen above cloud cover at 5.3 km.
Heading: NW
Tephra fallout: Minor (light fallout detected at two farms 10 km NW of vents)
Conditions at eruption site: Overall activity similar as yesterday. Eruption seen from west in the morning – north crater still active. External water has not affected vent activity much since 18 April. Geologists field observations (2-10 km from vents) show that explosivity is magmatic and that the tephra produced since 18 April is much coarser than during first four days. Explosions heard at Fljótshlíð, 10-15 km NW of vents. Meltwater discharge suggest similar lava activity. Processing of data obtained yesterday shows that lava had advanced 400-500 m northwards from crater, forming an ice depression extending some 700 m from vents.
Overall assessment: Magma flow rate has remained at similar level over the last few days. Plume activity is gradually declining. Flow continues flowing towards north. No signs of melting or meltwater discharge towards south. No signs of termination of eruption.Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull – status report 24 April 2010 at 1700 Eruption plume: Height( a.s.l): 13000 feet (4 km) Tephra fallout: Minor (plume dark but no reports of fallout in districts around volcano) Meltwater: 100-120 m3/s, based on gauge at old Markarfljót bridge and a rough estimate of base flow. GPS deformation: Indicates slow subsidence towards the center of the volcano. Magma flow: Eruption plume: less or equal to 10 tonnes/s. Lava flow: 10-30 tonnes/s Total magma flow: 20-40 tonnes/s
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The Plume at Eyjafjallajökull Rises to a Height of about 7,000m Sporadically, Idling Mostly at 4,000m
Fire Earth Moderators believe the volcano is spewing more ash than it did 2-3 days ago, despite the local reports.
Webcam at Valahnúk. Image recorded at 13:15UTC on April 24, 2010. Click Image to enlarge.
Hvolsvelli View [best image available all day from the webcam. Reduced visibility caused by volcanic ash, fumes, dust and clouds.]
Icelandic mat office said:
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland -Update on activity
Little changes – 24 April 2010 11:15
Volcanic tremor has been similar as the last 2-3 days.
Ash fall may be expected to the west and northwest from the eruption, minor in the Reykjavik area.
Water level in Markarfljót river is slightly higher than yesterday.
The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Media team, released the following bulletin earlier today:
News Release, 24 April 2010, 06:30
According to the Hvolsvöllur police, this was a quiet night. A little ash has fallen on Hvolsvöllur, and it is visible as a very fine dust on cars. The Weather Bureau expects strong winds from the northeast and the east along the southern coast, elsehwhere the winds will be softer and there will not be much precipitation. The ashen mist will probably move to the west and the northwest of the volcano, even reaching Reykjavík, but only in slight quantities
In a news release from the Chief Epidemiologist yesterday, it appears that wen ash mist occurs, or an increase in suspended particulates in the atmosphere, those who suffer from a dormant heart og lung disease are advised to remain indoors, but there is no call for using masks. It is expected that the eruption-related suspended particulates pollution in the capital area might be close to a similar pollution caused by traffic, and the warnings issued by health authorities will be in accordance with such pollution. The public should keep track of news and information and instruction on the websites of the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, http://www.almannavarnir.is, and of the Environment Agency, http://www.ust.is .
According to information from the airports, air traffic is limited to and from Keflavík, Reykjavík and Akureyri at the moment. No IFR-permissions are issued for Akureyri Airport, but the Egilsstaðir Airport is open to all flight traffic. Further information will be released later this morning.
The information centre for the media at Hvolsvöllur (tel. 847-4846) will remain open during he week-end. A press representative will be there, but there will be no meeting with specialists at 8 am. On the other hand, such meetings will be held at the information centre in Skógarhlíð from 08:00 til 09:00 am, Saturday and Sunday. Today, geophysicist Sigurlaug Hjaltadóttir, from Iceland Weather Bureau, Árni Snorrason, director of the Weather Bureau, and Árni Birgisson, director of the airport and guiding dept. of Isavia, will answer questions conveyed by the media and press agents.
Detailed Map of eruption Site [The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center]
Click on image to get larger map (pdf-file)
Prepared by: Ásta Rut Hjartardóttir (astahj@hi.is), Páll Einarsson (palli@hi.is)
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The following data have been acquired by the ASTER instrument on the NASA Terra satellite, and posted on Internet by University of Pittsburgh volcanologist Michael Ramsey. The data were collected both day and night. ASTER acquires data in the visible/near infrared (VNIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) during day time overpasses and in the TIR at night. The VNIR images are at 15 m/pixel resolution and the TIR are 90 m/pixel (each image covers approximately 60 km by 60 km).
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Ash Fall from Eyjafjallajökull Eruption Closes Icelandic Airports
Iceland’s Keflavík International Airport was closed earlier today due to volcanic ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull eruption.
The wind direction had reportedly changed pushing the ash cloud in southern Iceland in a southwesterly direction; however, little or no ash fall was forecast in the capital Reykjavik, Icelandic Review reported.
The closure of Keflavík airport was expected to affect all international flights to and from Iceland.
Webcam views of Eyjafjallajökull eruption recorded at 11:40UTC on April 23, 2010 – Click images to enlarge
Hvolsvelli View
Thórólfsfelli (Þórólfsfelli) View
The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull
Eruption update 22 April Similar situation as yesterday (see 21 April report)
Seismic tremor recorded by the Icelandic Meteorological Office: Some fluctuations, with a peak shortly after midnight 22 April related to a small flood of meltwater. Since the onset of the explosive eruption the tremor has overall been gradually increasing, with superimposed fluctuations.
Visual observations yesterday: Regular explosions at intervals of few minutes were observed in afternoon, with fluctuations in intensity and tephra content. Previous entries …
The following two images are from Frettabldid-Island and may be subject to copyright.
Electric Eyjafjallajokull
Prime Real Estate
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland – Current events Report by Icelandic Met Office
Status as of: 23 April 2010 10:45(UTC)
Volcanic tremor has been similar the last 24 hours. GPS stations around Eyjafjallajökull showed deflation associated with the eruption.
The plume could be seen on IMO’s radar till 04:00. This morning it rose up to 16.000 feet, ca 4.8 km, and ash is blowing towards west.
Water in Markarfljot river increased slightly yesterday, probably due to continuous flow from the eruption area (Gigjökull).
Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland as seen by RADARSAT-2 (Canadian Space Agency)
Left: RADARSAT-2 image of April 9 – RADARSAT-2 Multi-Look Fine, beam 4 – April 9, 2010, 07:34 :48 UTC, Descending orbit – Nominal resolution: 8 m.
Right: RADARSAT-2 image of April 20 – RADARSAT-2 Extended High, beam 4 – April 20, 2010, 07:13 :53 UTC, Descending orbit -Nominal resolution: 25 m. Click image to enlarge.
Image Notes and Observations:
New volcano craters are evident on April 20 image (Right).
Glacial lake on the north slope of the volcano is now filled with volcanic sediments.
Local drainage network is swamped by the melt water.
The radar backscatter has changed drastically, probably caused by the melted ice and by the presence of ash and dust on the ice.
Agricultural land on the south slope of the volcano covered by volcanic ash and debris.
The wavelength used by RADARSAT-2 is only slightly affected by the ash and airborne particles.
Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management – Media team
News Release: # 22 – April 23, 2010, 06:30(UTC)
A little after midnight, the volcanic cloud became quite dark, according to the police, and the wind turned during the night.
The Weather Bureau expects southeasterly winds today, and the wind force will gradually increase. An ashen mist is expected towards the north-east of the volcano, and small quantities of ash might even reach Reykjavík. The terms “ashen mist” refer to a view impaired by the ash, according to the Weather Bureau. Some ash is falling in the direction of Fljótshlíð and will continue to do so in a northwesterly direction from the volcano.
Flights to and from the airports of Keflavík and Reykjavík are being cancelled and travellers are requested to follow the news and the websites of the flight operators and Keflavík Airport.
According to the police at Hvolsvöllur, no traffic is permitted in the vicinity of the volcano. The area closed to traffic encompasses the Eyjafjallajökull glacier, its slopes, the Fimmvörðuháls pass and Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Please respect these restrictions.
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The explosive activity at Eyjafjallajökull is less vigorous, with only one of two main craters in the summit caldera remaining active.
Webcam views of Eyjafjallajökull eruption recorded at 15:23UTC on April 22, 2010 – Click images to enlarge
Hvolsvelli View
Thórólfsfelli (Þórólfsfelli) View
“Eruption rate is inferred to have declined over last few days and now be an order of magnitude smaller than during the initial 72 hours of the eruption. Present eruption rate is estimated to less than 30 m3/s of magma, or 75 tonnes/s , with a large uncertainty.” The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center said.
The eruptive style was reported as: “Phreatomatic explosive activity” with “lava spatter” at the summit craters, with the plume height reaching 3,000 m asl.
Seismic tremor showed some fluctuations but remained mostly stable, said the Icelandic Meteorological Office. “Tremor is not decreasing and does not reflect the decline as inferred from the eruption rate.”
Freeze frame from a video of Eyjafjallajökull Eruption shot by Icelandic Coast Guard.
The Institute of Earth Science Nordic Volcanological Center said:
Tephra dispersal: local towards the south
Meltwater: minor, but what is melted flows down into Markarfljót, no signs of water accumulation in craters
GPS-measurements: indicate continuing small pressure decrease under the volcano at a similar rate.
Composition of erupted material: Samples collected April 19 show same composition as early in the explosive phase, but fluorine content is higher. Samples collected 19 April have 850 mg/kg (initially it was 25-35 mg/kg). This is due to the change in eruptive style – tephra is now not washed to the same extent by water in the eruptive plume.
Amount of erupted material: Uncertain but on the order of 100 millon cubic meters. Tephra next to craters is 20-30 m thick.
Iceland’s Civil Protection Office confirmed that the ash emissions had been considerably reduced. “The volcanic cloud is quite low and not visible on radars. The ash is not expected to reach an altitude of 20.000 feet (6 – 7 km) for the nex few days. The ashes will continue falling on the area south and south-east of the glacier today, yet the wind will turn and blow from the north-easterly today, and the ashes will start falling to the south-west tonight. The wind is expected to be mild. That, and a lessened ash emission, will cause the ashes to fall near the eruption site. There is no cause to believe that the ashes will fall on the south-western regions of Iceland.”
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Eyjafjallajökull has entered a Strombolian-like phase of explosive of activity, producing magma splatters, but less ash and smoke than the previous days.The plume, however, is till rising to a height of about 3,500m.
The magma in Eyjafjallajökull cauldron seems to be more viscous than in its neighboring Fimmvörðuháls fissure, the Icelandic Met Office reported, adding that the interaction of magma with ice and melt water had decreased.
Icelandic Met Office: Update on activity
Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
Current events
Deflation – 20 April 2010 13:30 [22:30UTC]
Latest available results from GPS stations around Eyjafjallajökull showed deflation associated with the eruption. This suggested that the volume of eruptive material which has been ejected already, relieves pressure off the volcano.
No movements associated with the Katla volcano are presently observed. END
Thórólfsfelli (Þórólfsfelli) View
Hvolsvelli View
Valahnúk View Latest webcam images of Eyjafjallajökull show the volcano is still petty much active. Frames frozen at 08:42UTC on April 21, 2010. Click images to enlarge.
There is no sign of lava flow as yet, but the situation could change rapidly.
“It seems that the ice cauldrons over the eruption site have coalesced to form a larger cauldron. In spite of magma splatters, no lava flow has been detected yet.”
“Heavy sound blasts have been heard and found near Eyjafjallajökull, especially south and east of the mountain. The viscosity of the magma from Eyjafjallajökull is higher than on Fimmvörðuháls and this enhances the explosive sound effect which can be heard over long distances.” it said.
Nearly all of the European airports have now reopened, however, the travel chaos with an unprecedented backlog of about 100,000 flight cancellations continues. The 6-day flight ban has cost the airlines more than one billion dollars. The actual cost to the unsustainable economies of Europe may be even larger.
Eldgosið í Fimmvörðuhálsi var undanfari eldgossins í Eyjafjallajökli. Árni Sæberg. Source: MBL-Island. Image may be subject to copyright.
A Silver Lining to the Ash Cloud?
University students in Britain have estimated the amount of carbon dioxide released by Eyjafjallajökull Eruption at 150,000 metric tons per day. The figure compares with 510,000 tons of CO2 per day emitted as a result of the planes flying normally over Europe. Their estimates seem to imply a ‘saving’ of 360,000 tons of CO2 per day as a result of the flight restriction over Europe. Source: Reuters report.
ASTER on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired the above image at 1:50 p.m. local time on April 19. The image shows both the eruption plume and the heat signature of lava at the volcano’s summit and at nearby Fimmvörduháls fissure. Source: NASA. Click image to enlarge.
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Fire-Earth can confirm that the eruption at Eyjafjallajökull is intensifying with ash plume rising to a height of about 10km.
The sun turns dark: Eyjafjallajökull through Valahnúk Webcam at 07:30UTC
The eruption at Eyjafjallajökull has almost completely darkened the sky. Click image to enlarge.
Note: The Eyjafjallajökull Hvolsvelli Webcam was not operating properly, as of posting.
How Long Will Eyjafjallajökull Erupt
There is absolutely no reason why the explosive activity at Eyjafjallajökull couldn’t go on for days, weeks even months. Not only Eyjafjallajökull could follow the “Chaitén pattern” and even trigger other, larger volcanoes like Kata to erupt. Indeed, there’s historic precedence for the latter scenario.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office agrees with Fire-Earth assessment.
“The eruption could go on like that for a long time,” geophysicist Bergthora Thorbjarnardottir at the Meteorological Office said.
UKMET: Update to Volcanic Ash Plume — 0851 on Sunday 18 April 2010
“Satellite imagery Sunday morning shows an active volcanic plume spreading ash southwards and southeastwards from southern Iceland. Remnants of earlier plume activity over Europe much less evident now on derived dust imagery. Recent information from the Icelandic Met Office suggests the volcano is currently erupting ash to a height of approximately 4km. Issued at 0850 on Sun 18 Apr 2010.”
Where is the volcanic ash moving?
A diagrammatic illustration of volcanic ash dispersion up to 20,000 ft, issued at 7 pm on 17 April. Advisory charts are issued every six hours, for up to 18 hours ahead, by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center. Source: UK Met Office.
Volcanic Ash Advisory Graphicsfrom London Met Office. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.
‘Chaos’ as the volcanic ash from Iceland continues to move into Europe’s airspace
About 60,000 flight will have been canceled by Sunday evening (UTC) with an estimated 12 million air travelers stranded since Thursday.
Desperate Airlines ‘Daredevil Management’ May Well End in DISASTER
About 20 countries have closed their airspaces until late Sunday, some into Monday, leaving millions of passengers globally as ash clouds from Eyjafjallajökull eruption linger on in Europe’s airspace.
Dutch and German airlines have reportedly carried out test flights, apparently without any damage to the planes. The most obvious dangers of such recklessness are the facts that the concentration of airborne ash particles is neither uniform, nor constant. High concentration of ash may exists in air pockets that the test flights avoided, or changing wind patterns could increase the concentration of ash in an air route within minutes.
In fact the weather reports say the Icelandic ash concentration in the upper atmosphere may become more concentrated through Wednesday.
Airlines are desperate because, in addition to losing money for each flight canceled, their stock values are taking a nosedive, too. In fact some of the major carriers could lose by as much as 10 percent of their share values by Tuesday.
Why is volcanic ash so dangerous?
Volcanic ash is composed of small tephra, or tiny bits of pulverized glass and rock that are created by volcanic eruptions. The particles are usually accompanied by several gases including sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is mixed with water in the air and converted into droplets of sulfuric acid and other substances that are harmful to the plane. Volcanic ash is potentially deadly to aircraft and their passengers. It poses three types of danger to aircraft by way of:
Clogging the engine and causing engine failure
Clogging the fuel and cooling systems
Melting in the hot parts of the engine, and fusing on engine components thereby causing loss of engine thrust that could lead into a flame out, shutting down the engine
Breaking the blades and other sensitive components inside the turbine
Causing physical damage to various parts of the plane including abrasion of engine parts, the airframe, as well as control and steering mechanism
Reducing visibility
Few Facts about Icelandic Volcanoes
Iceland is home to about 130 volcanoes, 18 of which have erupted since about 1,000 years ago.
Eruption from Iceland’s volcanoes have produced more than 30 percent of the total lava output globally, since the 1500s.
The Laki eruption in 1783-1784 produced he largest volume of lava in the last 500 years.
An eruption of Eldgjá in 934 CE produced twice as much lava as did Laki.
Explosion at Laki (Lakagigar) Volcanic fissure
A destructive eruption at Laki volcano, which occurred over an 8-month period in 1783–1784, ejected about 14 cubic km (3.4 cu mi) of basalt lava and plumes of poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur-dioxide gas that lead to a famine in Iceland. About a quarter of the population and half of all livestock perished. Dust clouds covered most of Europe and parts of Eurasia and Africa for a year.
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Earth sinks in the sea, the fair, bright stars disappear from the heavens
Ragnarök
The sun turns dark,
earth sinks in the sea,
the fair, bright stars
disappear from the heavens.
Sizzling blaze
around the tree of life
colossal heat plays with
the heavens. —Völuspá
The above stanzas were quoted from the famous Nordic poem Völuspá in the Iceland Review. Völuspá, Prophecy of the Völva, tells the story of creation of the world and how it comes to its end, and is arguably the most important source for understanding the Norse mythology.
Yggdrasil, a modern representation of the world tree which is central to Norse mythology. The world tree is a motif that appears in some Indo-European religions and mythologies. It is represented as a giant tree that supports the heavens, connects it to the earth, and the underground through its roots.
“It was like the sun had gone out in the middle of the day.”
Iceland Review editor Bjarni Brynjólfsson and photographer Páll Stefánsson wondered how it was to drive through the area affected by the eruption: “We tried driving into the darkness and it was like we had stepped into another dimension. We felt it was the end of the world as described in Völuspá, the old Icelandic Poem the tells the story of the end of the world called Ragnarök or Götterdämmerung in the famous opera by Wagner.” More …
What Happened to Disaster Tourism?
The rascals coiled their tails and ran for the coast. Nearby roads covered in a thick blanket of volcanic ash. Credit: Ómar Óskarssonvia MBL-Is. Image may be subject to copyright.
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Eyjafjallajökull eruption 10 times more powerful than Fimmvörduháls Eruption in March: Iceland volcanologist
The eruption which occurred 200 meter beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier has intensified after ejecting a 6.7-km plume of ash and smoke into the air and causing extensive flooding south of Iceland, volcanologist Armannn Hoskuldsson at University of Iceland said. He noted that the eruption was 10 times more powerful than the March 20 Fimmvörduháls eruption.
“It’s becoming more intense, but there will be no lava—this is purely an explosive eruption,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Eruption at Eyjafjallajökull glacier melts Gígjökull glacial tongue, causing extensive flooding in Markarfljót river, south of Iceland. Credit: Vefbold-Island. Image may be subject to copyright.
Volcanic Ash and Smoke forces cancellation of about 4,500 flights throughout N. Europe
Maps of Ash Drift from Eyjafjallajökull Eruption. Source: RUV Island. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.
A cloud of volcanic ash is seen between Iceland (TOP L) and Scotland, in northern Britain, in this handout satellite photograph taken at 0800 GMT on Thursday, and received from Britain’s Met Office in London on April 15, 2010. Airport operator BAA said on Thursday it expected all flights in and out of London’s Heathrow and Stansted airports to be suspended from 12:00 p.m. due to a cloud of volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland. The grids and coastlines were superimposed on the photograph by the Met Office. Credit: REUTERS/EUMETSAT/Met Office/Handout. Click image to enlarge.
Non-Stop Eruption
Eyjafjallajökull has been erupting for more than 24 hours, disrupting air traffic throughout northern Europe. Britain’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS) declared Britain’s airs pace a no-fly zone. Only emergency flights are allowed in British air space.
The situation is pretty much the same across the region. Airlines have canceled or diverted thousands of flights from Norway, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
Markarfljót river located to the west of Eyjafjallajökull glacier flooded for the second time last night, a local report said, describing the second flood as “completely unlike the first one.” The earlier floodwater measured about 4 degrees Celsius and was ice free. The second flood, however, was said to have a high ice content with large quantities of ice chunks measuring up to 15 cm thick The latter flood water was also colder than the first measuring degrees Celsius C. The floodwaters have caused extensive damage to roads and bridges.
The ash fall from the eruption has covered thousands of hectares of land to the east of the glacier Iceland’s fifth largest, in a thick blanket of ash.
Up to 800 people have fled their homes or been evacuated by the authorities.
Videos
Video footage of the new volcanic eruption on Eyjafjallajökull glacier in south Iceland and flooding in Markarfljót river is posted here.
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The following images pertain to Iceland’s 0.5-km long volcanic fissure on the northern side of Fimmvörðuháls, east of the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap, which began erupting on March 20, 2010.
From Heljarkambur, looking down into Hrunagil, 22nd March 2010 at 16:00. Lava flows into the gully. The snow is covered with ash. Photo: Einar Kjartansson. Image may be subject to copyright. Source: Icelandic Met Office
Hrunagil 15th July 2007, just south of Heljarkambur. Mudcovered ice at the bottom of the gully. Photo: Einar Kjartansson. Image may be subject to copyright. Source: Icelandic Met Office.
The new mountain rises behind the crater. Photo by Páll Stefánsson. (Undated, but cover story published on March 26, 2010.) Source: Iceland Review. Image may be subject to copyright.
Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system erupted in the south of Iceland, forcing up to five hundred people to evacuate the area, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency and imposing a NO FLY Zone over much of Icelandic airspace.
Eruption at Eyjafjöll is consistent with recent global patterns of volcanism and tectonism. Wild eruptions may occur in Iceland and elsewhere—Fire-Earth
Eyjafjöll Volcanic System Erupts
Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system erupted in the south of Iceland, forcing up to five hundred people to evacuate the area, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency and imposing a NO FLY Zone over much of Icelandic airspace.
At least three flights en-route Reykjavik from the US were ordered back to Boston, and up to 1,500 are currently stranded in the Reykjavik airport.
Where the Eruption Occurred
Location of the Eruptive Fissure. Source: Nordic Volcanological Center. Click image to enlarge.
How Eruption Occurred
Eruption began at 23:52UTC on 20 March 2010 at the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system (also known as Eyjafjöll volcano). A red cloud appeared above the volcano, which lightened up the sky above the eruptive fissure. “The eruption was preceded with intense seismicity and high rates of deformation in the weeks before the eruption, in association with magma recharging of the volcano. Immediately prior to the eruption the depth of seismicity had become shallow, but was not significantly enhanced from what it had been in the previous weeks. Deformation was occurring at rates of up to a centimetre a day since March 4 at continuous GPS sites installed within 12 km from the eruptive site.” IESUI reported.
“The eruption broke out with fire fountains and Hawaiian eruptive style on about 500 m long NE-SW oriented eruptive fissure at N63º38.1′, W19º26.4′ on the northeast shoulder of the volcano at an elevation of about 1000 m. It was observed from air from 4-7 A.M. on March 21. Lava flows short distance from the eruptive site, and minor eruption plume at elevation less than 1 km was deflected by wind to the west. Volcanic explosive index (VEI) is 1 or less. Tephra fall is minor or insignificant. The eruption occurs just outside the ice cap of Eyjafjallajökull, and no ice melting is occurring at present.”
Surface temperature satellite image taken by MODIS shows the location of the eruption. Source: NASA via Nordic Volcanological Center. Click image to enlarge.
Source: Nordic Volcanological Center. Click image to enlarge.
The eruption occurred at a fissure on a 2 km wide pass of ice-free land between Eyjafjallajökull and its large neighbor Katla volcano which is buried under Myrdalsjökull ice cap. “Katla volcano is known for powerful subglacial phreatomagmatic eruptions producing basaltic tephra layers with volumes ranging from ~0.01 to more than 1 cubic kilometer.” Institute of Earth Sciences at University of Iceland (IESUI) reported.
Eyjafjallajökull is known to have erupted at least three times in the last 1100 years (settlement of Iceland). “The most recent began in December 1821 and lasted intermittently for more than a year. The neighbouring volcano Katla erupted then on 26 June 1823. Other eruptions include an eruption in 1612 or 1613, and about 920 A.D.”
Eyjafjallajökull is known for several episodes of unrest, “with documented sill intrusions in 1994 and 1999.”
The 2.5-km-wide summit caldera of Eyjafjöll located west of Katla volcano. Photo by Oddur Sigurdsson, 1992 (Icelandic National Energy Authority). Click image to enlarge.
Seismic Activity
Eyjafjallajökull has been experiencing intensive Seismic activity since late February with most of the shocks occurring at 7 to 10 km depth. “On March 19th a seismic swarm began east of the top crater, originating between 4 and 7 km depth.” Iceland Met Office reported.
“On March 19th a seismic swarm, began east of the top crater, originating between 4 and 7 km depth. The activity migrated eastwards and towards the surface on Saturday, March 20th.”
What Local Experts Say
Scientists at Nordic Volcanological Center say further volcanic activity in the area may be imminent, based on the fact that three previous eruptions at Eyjafjallajokull had all primed the powerful Katla volcano to erupt.
“What we know is that an eruption in Eyjafjallajokull seems to be a trigger for Mt Katla,” geophysicist Pall Einarsson said.
“The volcano has been inflating since the beginning of the year, both rising and swelling, even though we were seeing increased seismic activity, it could have been months or years before we saw an eruption like this.”
Einarsson believes that an eruption at Mt Katla would be a much greater and more serious event because molten lava would melt the glacier causing large-scale flooding.
Geophysicist Magnus Gudmundsson says it’s impossible to predict how long the Eyjafjallajokull eruption could last. “It could end tomorrow, it could go on for a year or two, but this is a small eruption.”
More facts about Icelandic Volcanoes:
Mt Katla last erupted in 1918.
The most recent eruption at an Icelandic volcano occurred in 2004.
Eyjafjallajokull Volcanic System was dormant since 1821.
Iceland has experienced 21 eruptions in the past 50 years.
Only one of the 21 eruption caused serious damage when a volcano erupted in Westmann islands in 1973.
Map of Iceland Earthquakes (Last 48 hours) – Icelandic Met Office
Fire Earth 
